International Management Assignment 1 Formal Institutions- Mexico
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The history of Mexico spans back exactly 400 years when the Spanish Empire landed in
what is now Mexico in 1519. During that time the country was controlled by the Aztecs an
indigenous civilization. The Spanish conquered the Aztecs by 1521 and named the region New
Spain and changed the main Aztec city name Tenochtitlan to Mexico City. After the conquest the
colonial era continued and, “Mexico’s long-established Mesoamerican civilizations mixed with
European culture” (Wikipedia.org). “For three centuries Mexico was part of the Spanish Empire,
whose legacy is a country with a Spanish-speaking, Catholic and largely Western culture”
(Wikipedia.org).
After three centuries as New Spain the country became, “the sovereign nation of Mexico,
with the signing of the Treaty of Córdoba” in 1821 (Wikipedia.org). This treaty finally came to
be after many years of, “revolt against the Spanish crown” (Wikipedia.org). This struggle was
called the Mexican War of Independence which was encouraged by a Catholic priest Miguel
Hidalgo y Costilla. Following the gain of independence from Spain the country was ran by a
monarchy from 1821-1823 and was called the First Mexican Empire. After the monarchy the
Republic of Mexico was established, “under a federal constitution in 1824” (Wikipedia.org).
“Mexico continues to be constituted as a federated republic, under the Mexican Constitution of
1917” (Wikipedia.org).
Mexico is a great country for starting a business and many large foreign companies
preside there. With Mexico being near the US and having lower wages and skilled hard-working
employees it is an ideal spot for many companies. “Mexico’s legal system and tax laws for
businesses do not discriminate between foreigner business or Mexican National owned
businesses” (mexlaw.ca). Many foreign companies are already established in Mexico. For
example “the “Big Three” (General Motors, Ford and Chrysler) have been operating in Mexico
International Management Assignment 1 Formal Institutions- Mexico
since the 1930s, while Volkswagen and Nissan built their plants in the 1960s. Later, Toyota,
Honda, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz joined in” (Wikipedia.org).
Mexico is the 11th largest nation in the world with an estimated population of 123,
675,325 and is the 13th largest nation when it comes to area with 761, 610 square miles
(Wikipedia.org). The nations GDP total is 16th in the world at $1.199 trillion and GDP per capita
is 69th in the world at $9,614 (Wikipedia.org). Mexico comes in 11th in the world when it comes
to GDP PPP (Wikipedia.org). Mexico’s recent growth rate in 2017 was at 2.0%. Mexico’s main
religion is Catholicism at 83% followed by Protestants at 7% (Wikipedia.org). Mexico has many
ethnic groups: Mestizo, Indigenous peoples, Mexicans of European descent, Arab Mexicans,
Afro-Mexicans, and Asian Mexicans. In Mexico there are more females than males and Mexico
is more rural than urban overall. As for education Mexico has a, “literacy rate was at 97% for
